EQUINE | Equine Disease Update
Contagious equine metritis was diagnosed in Germa-
ny. Ten Icelandic stallions and five mares were con-
firmed positive on a total of 13 premises.
France diagnosed a case of equine coital exanthema
(equine herpesvirus 3) on two premises as well as one
case of leptospiral abortion.
Nocardioform placentitis was confirmed in Kentucky,
USA, with five cases caused by Amycolatopsis spp and
two by Crossiella equi.
Twenty-three cases of salmonellosis were reported by
the USA during the second quarter of 2017; reported
serogroups included B (15), C1 (2), and C2 (6).
The USA confirmed three cases of Clostridium perfrin-
gens Type A genotype in foals in Kentucky, one case of
Tyzzer’s disease (C. piliforme), and isolated cases of C.
novyi and C. sordelli infection.
Three outbreaks of rotaviral diarrhea were recorded in
France. The USA reported a case of proliferative en-
teropathy (Lawsonia intracellularis) in a foal. Rhodo-
coccal related disease was reported as endemic in the
USA, with 22 cases recorded during the review period.
rica with 41 confirmed cases, two of which were co-
infections with equine encephalosis virus.
Equine Colic Update
There is a prophecy about equine colic: As long as
there are horses, they will have colic. Based on reports
in the literature over the last 50 years, the incidence
of all colic cases has not changed over time and the
incidence in a normal horse population ranges from
1 to 10 episodes of colic per 100 horses each year.
However, horses that have had one or more previous
episodes of colic have an incidence rate up to 5 times
higher. Survival varies with the severity of the disease,
but the overall mortality rate for all types of colic in
horses is approximately 7%-10%, second only to fa-
talities due to musculoskeletal injuries. Incidence
varies from farm to farm based on management, with
a higher frequency expected in specific populations
of horses such as broodmares near term, horses with
small strongyle infection, or those exposed to abrupt
changes in management. Horses being treated for eye
disease and those hospitalized after general anesthe-
sia for elective procedures also have an increased in-
cidence of colic.
The causes of these acute intestinal diseases remain
Switzerland diagnosed two cases of atypical myopathy
and four cases of ehrlichiosis, the latter involving three
premises.
West Nile encephalitis was reported by South Africa
(44 cases, lineage 2 virus) and the USA (one case). Five
of the cases in South Africa represented co-infection
with equine encephalosis virus and three others with
Middleburg virus.
Equine encephalosis was reported by South Africa and
confirmed mostly in Gauteng Province. Encephalitis
due to Middleburg virus was reported across South Af-
• Volume 19 no 4 • December 2017 •
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